Category: Photokina 2012

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Think Tank Photo has announced that in November it will release the Airport Navigator, billed as the photography industry’s first rolling pilot’s case. Allowing photographers to access gear from the top and the front, the Airport Navigator holds two pro-size bodies, plus three to six extra lenses and most 15.4” laptops, tablets and documents. The two external side pockets can also accommodate pro-size flashes or water bottles. The Airport Navigator is priced at $235.75.

You’re looking at the world’s highest capacity SDXC UHS-I card, which Lexar have just launched at Photokina. Their 256Gb, 400x speed card offers a minimum guaranteed sustained read transfer speed of 60MB per second.and will be available in late October, a snip at exactly £670.99 in the UK.

Lexar are introducing 32Gb and 64Gb Micro SDXC cards, which ship with a neat little thumb-sized SD reader and are priced at £49.99 and £104.99 respectively. They are also updating their regular dual-slot card reader to USB3, priced at £29.99. Lexar are currently also working on finalising their XQD product offering.

Lexar has launched a new 25-in-1 USB 3.0 memory card reader. The Lexar Multi-Card 25-in-1 USB 3.0 Readerprovides five slots compatible with popular card formats such as CompactFlash, Secure Digital, including newly added support for SDXC cards, Mobile, Memory Stick and xD-Picture cards. Compatible with both Mac and Windows systems, the Lexar Multi-Card 25-in-1 USB 3.0 Reader comes with a one-year limited warranty, and is available for purchase with an MSRP of £29.99.

EIZO has launched its new lineup of ColorEdge monitors to appeal to both its traditional core of high-end graphics professionals as well as middle and entry level users. The new lineup consists of three series and five models. The CG series is carried over from the current ColorEdge lineup and will continue to be targeted at professionals - the new models in the series include the 27” ColorEdge CG276 (pictured) and 24.1” ColorEdge CG246. The new CX series is targeted at prosumers and trade schools in photography and design. Covering most of the Adobe RGB colour space, the two models in the series - the ColorEdge CX270 (27”) and ColorEdge CX240 (24.1”)- come with a newly designed in-built SelfCorrection sensor that maintains the calibration results after the monitor has been calibrated by an external sensor. As of now, the also-new entry-level CS series comprises one model, the ColorEdge CS230 (23”). Like the CX series, it comes with an in-built SelfCorrection sensor, but a narrower colour space covering most of sRGB.

Epson has introduced two new Wi-Fi enabled “Small-in-One” printers. The flagship Expression XP-800 comes equipped with a 30-page Auto Document Feeder featuring automatic two-sided copying, scanning and faxing, a 3.5” touchscreen with gesture navigation for easy setup and operation, specialty paper support through its rear paper feed4, and an auto-extend paper output tray that automatically extends any time the user hits print from a Mac, PC or iPad. The main difference between the two printers is the scanner resolution, which is 2400dpi on the XP-600 and 4800dpi XP-800, the printing speed (XP-600: 9ppm, XP-800: 11ppm) and the built-in Ethernet networking feature, which is only offered on the XP-800. The Epson XP-600 ($149.99, pictured) and XP-800 ($279.99) will be available in late-October through major retailer stores across the USA.

Epson is showcasing its full range of LFP, pro-photo and consumer photo products at this year’s Photokina. The stand offers practical application demonstrations of Epson products in use, including the company’s new digital dry lab, the SureLab SL-D3000. Faces of Photokina will also be a core theme for Epson during the show, where professional photographers will aim to take portrait photos of 1000 visitors to the Epson booth and display them as a gallery of images, which will be signed and stamped with Epson’s Digigraphie label.

Fotoman Professional Cameras have re-announced the Fotoman 624 Panoramic Camera featuring a Schneider 90 mm / 5.6 XL Super Angulon lens. The camera produces a large 5.6 cm x 22.4 cm image allowing for 3 shots on a 120 roll. For focusing, users can choose between the Fotoman Helical Focusing Mount and an optional ground glass focusing screen. Weighing in at 1.86kg, the Fotoman 624 Panoramic Camera comes with a 120° viewfinder. The price has not been revealed.

German accessories manufacturer Novoflex has introduced a newly designed tilt- and shift bellows system for compact system cameras. Comprising the Castbal-T/S bellows attachment (€299) and the Castel-Q macro focussing rack, the new system is claimed to offer “an easy and inexpensive way to dive even deeper into macro photography and perspectives control.” The bellows attachment is simply put into the quick release mount of the Castel-Q and is ready for use. For perspective control purposes the lens panel of the Castbal-T/S can be adjusted 25° to the left or right side. For focus control it can be shifted within the quick release mount of the focusing rack. (The amount of shift/rise/fall achievable with the system is unspecified.) The system is compatible with a wide variety of Novoflex adapters. Additionally, a Schneider Kreuznach UNI-APO-DIGI 90mm f/4.5 lens is offered as an optional accessory for €759.

At Photokina 2012, Schneider Kreuznach has presented its first filter designed specifically for lenses on mobile devices. The B+W Smart-Pro is a circular polarising filter that can be mounted on all current iPhones and iPads as well as other smartphones and tablet PCs with a maximum lens diameter of 8mm. The filter system is “clicked” onto a small magnetic ring that is first fitted around the lens on the smartphone or tablet. The filter can then be attached and aligned quickly and easily as required. The B+W Smart-Pro will be available from winter 2012, with pricing to be confirmed.

Carl Zeiss has introduced a new family of autofocus lenses for compact system cameras (CSCs). Initially comprising a 12mm f/2.8, a 32mm f/1.8 and a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens - equivalent to 18mm, 48mm and 75mm respectively -, this new range of Zeiss AF lenses will be available for Sony E-bayonet (Sony NEX cameras) and for Fujifilm X-bayonet (Fujifilm X cameras). The X-mount lenses will come equipped with manual aperture rings. Zeiss says it uses several “different types of glass” for the lens elements and “a mix of materials” - which include, but are not limited to, metals - for the mechanical parts. Exact pricing for the Carl Zeiss CSC lenses has yet to be communicated but the company says they will be “around the €1,000 mark” each.